Ellicott City Sports Report, September 8, 2011

Football

Mt. Hebron sophomore Zach Nicholas scored on a 74-yard run on just the third play from scrimmage as the Vikings (1-0) beat Oakland Mills (0-1), 26-0, to open their 2011 campaign.

Nicholas lined up on the right wing on the play, taking an inside counter handoff from QB Malik Gilmore and following his pulling linemen into the Oakland Mills secondary.

Gilmore was 12-15 for 159 yards with two TDs and junior Jackson Porter led the Vikings with four receptions for 42 yards. The Vikings face Hammond (1-0), who knocked off Wilde Lake (0-1) in their season opener, 16-12.

Coach Todd Kriner’s Centennial Eagles (1-0) will try to even their mark in week 2 against Glenelg, after dropping their opener to Howard (1-0). Glenelg (1-0) won via forfeit over Atholton (0-1) in week 1.

On the college level, Mt. Hebron alum Spencer Wilkins hauled in a 10-yard TD pass as the Towson Tigers handled Morgan State 42-3 in the season-opener for both teams. The redshirt freshman had two receptions on the afternoon for Towson, the first of his collegiate career.

Wilkins was joined on the field by Centennial alum Justin Harris. The 5’10” 175 lb. senior started at corner for the Tigers and had three solo tackles. While at Centennial Harris amassed 24 career touchdowns.

The Ellicott City Patriots continued into week 2 of the season playing well in Mid-Maryland Youth Football’s National, Liberty, and Federal divisions. The program was paced by standout 2-0 teams at the 11-13 and 10-12 National levels.

Soccer

Centennial boys’ soccer comes off a season that saw them go 6-5-5. Their defense returns largely intact, and will be anchored by academic and athletic standout Peter Vorel.

Chapelgate boys' soccer competes in the MIAA-C, and stands poised to better a 6-9-1 mark in 2011. The Yellowjackets will be experienced with 11 seniors on the roster, including midfielder Wale Soniregun.

Mt. Hebron finished 6-8-2 overall last year and returns four-year starter Drew Staedeli in goal.

In girls' soccer, Chapelgate returns from a 12-1-2 overall mark in 2010 and will be defending their IAAM-C title. Senior Kristin Thomas had 22 goals and 9 assists for the '10 Yellowjackets, and will be a leader on this year's squad.

Dorsey Hall’s Matt Seinfeld (Wilde Lake) has played in two games for the VMI Keydets to date, tallying one assist. Seinfeld and VMI (0-3) play Lipscomb (0-4) this Friday in search of their first win of the year.

Baseball

Fellow Dorsey Hall product (Mt. St. Joseph) is listed on the Mets 40-Man roster and finished his season with the organization’s Buffalo Bisons. O’Connor, 31, was 5-5 for the Bisons and registered 66 strikeouts. In his pro career to date, the 6’3” lefty has fanned nearly 600 batters.

Ellicott City’s Nick Natoli finished the 2011 season with the Lowell Spinners in the Boston Red Sox organization. The 6’1” shortstop was hampered late in the campaign by an ankle injury, but finished a standout collegiate career for Towson in the spring, and then went on to two stops in the Red Sox organizational ladder (GCL Red Sox, Lowell) through the summer.